En Primeur

Question 1

What is en primeur wines?

Answer 1

-method of selling wine before been bottled
-purchasers buy wine whilst still in barrel and remains in producers cellar until ready for bottling
-purchaser only receives wine once been bottled few years later

Question 2

How did the en primeur system arise?

Answer 2

-second world war where chateaux struggling to survive financially
-long maturation time for top bdx= cashflow issue
en primeur price covers all production costs up to and including bottling
-merchants still involved, but now more as a wholesaler- buying proportion of chateaux stock and selling and distributing to range of distributers and retailers

Question 3

What are the attractions of buying en primeur to purchasers?

Answer 3

• cheaper, easier to buy wine at this stage
• in theory, price will go up once bottled and matured (not guaranteed, could go down)
  -produced in limited quantities- might be only opp to buy them

Question 4

Wines sold en primeur tend to be those that benefit from period of maturation in barrel (18 months plus) and are prized by investors. Give example of other en primeur wines apart from bdx

Answer 4

-burg
-rhone
-super tuscans
-vintage port